Au pair Canada programs do not have a national official contract. We utilize the European au pair contract as a common template, generally approved all over the world.

As a comfortable way to make everything clear both for au pairs and host families, the au pair contract is a written agreement specifying au pairs’ responsibilities, working hours, free time, holidays, pocket money, etc.

Materials to download

• Official European au pair contract (a template you can alter where or how you consider appropriate)

Au pair contract termination
You won’t find any strict official notice period for terminating the au pair contract in Canada. It’s more about ensuring at least minimal convenience for au pairs and host families. If they need to terminate the contract, it’s better to write a termination notice letter to the other party at least in two weeks' time. Then both parties will have the time they need to handle all changes by replacing their au pair, or leaving the country, or dealing with other organizational concerns.

Any au pair's duty #1 is the assistance with childcare. Apart from taking care of the host family's children, secondary responsibilities may include simple household chores assistance. To avoid any misunderstandings, the au pair contract should specify all essential responsibilities of host families and au pairs.

Learn more about au pair's duties:

• Is an au pair required to help with housework?

The minimal pocket money an au pair receives in Canada is calculated as minimum hourly wage exclusive of room and board (meals) expenses. The minimum wage isn’t the same in different territories of Canada. To find more precise numbers, you may study the minimum hourly wages rates in Canada to see the exact information for the necessary area.

Let’s see how much pocket money an au pair can receive in an exact area. For instance, if the program takes place in Ontario, average room and board (meals) expenses are reported to be 85.25 CAD. According to the current minimum wage databases, Ontario’s minimum rate is about 15.5 CAD. If an au pair’s working hours are 30 per week, they will get 379.75 CAD weekly (pocket money 30*15.5 CAD = 465 CAD, exclusive of room and board expenses 85.25 CAD).

Depending on the amount of pocket money and other specific conditions, more deductions may be applied to au pairs’ payments. These are income tax, CPP (Canadian Pension Plan), EI (Employment Insurance), etc.

Compensation for Employees

Host families must submit claims for their au pairs’ insurance to the closest provincial workers' compensation board. Premiums to WCB (Workers' Compensation Board) vary from the area and are usually less than 15 CAD per month.

Host family as an employer

Au pair program turns host families into employers. And they have to register at the Canada Revenue Agency. After that, host families can deduct income tax, CPP, and EI from their au pair's pocket money.

Childcare costs to claim for

Registered host families are eligible to claim childcare expenses for an au pair in their income tax return. See the common expenses that can be deducted: au pairs’ pocket money, EI, CPP, premiums to WCB, the AuPairWorld’s Premium Membership fee.

A host family needs to ensure that their au pair has a separate room. The family’s meals (board) are also a host family’s obligation. If we speak about the original notion of any au pair program as a discovery of a new culture, room and board can be free of charge. On the other hand, Au Pair Canada gives au pairs an opportunity to earn at least minimum wage as pocket money; that is why room and board expenses can be (and are usually) deducted from au pairs’ pocket money.

In Canada, there is no exact or restricted number of working hours an au pair should work. The recommended working hours are 25-30 a week. During these hours, host families have a right to receive evening babysitting services but not more than three times a week.

The arrangement of working hours and schedule should be discussed prior to the au pair’s stay. Important issues include the exact amount of working days and evenings as well as full days off (at least once a week; at least one Sunday per month).

As with working hours, there is no specifically regulated number of holidays within the programme. A commonly recommended holiday period is two weeks for a six-month stay. If an au pair’s stay is less than six months, it can be a starting point to make a proportion (one week for a three-month stay, etc.).

As with other free time periods, the Au Pair Canada programme doesn’t regulate the status of public holidays for au pairs. However, the preferred approach is to let au pairs celebrate Canada’s public holidays and have day offs but for emergencies, that have to be discussed beforehand and be upon reasonable notice.

Find out more about free time and holidays in the au pair programme:

• Family holidays and your au pair – What works best?

As a cultural exchange programme, au pairing involves an English or French course for au pairs. Host families have to arrange their au pairs’ schedule with this in mind. They also ought to provide some assistance in finding the most convenient language course. In most cases, au pairs pay for their course by themselves.

It is obligatory for au pairs to have health insurance for the whole period of the au pair’s stay. Otherwise, they will not get the visa. The health insurance policy should cover the costs of healthcare, hospital medical treatment, and repatriation. In most cases, au pairs pay for the policy by themselves unless host families want to cover these costs.

Expenses for travelling to and from Canada are typically au pairs’ obligations. However, if their host family doesn’t want their au pairs to bear the costs for travelling (one or both directions), they can make a contribution to these expenses. We want to point out that it’s optional for host families as travel expenses are normally au pairs’ concerns.

If an au pair has an existing driving licence, they are allowed to use it for a certain period of time – a few months. To keep on driving after the term expires, an au pair has to pass a driving test and receive the Canadian driving licence. Learn more details about driving for au pairs here: Canadian government.

Another important issue about au pairs’ driving their host family’s car is liability and insurance. All the conditions concerning the aspects mentioned as well as potential accidents, damage, financial obligations, and other consequences have to be discussed beforehand.